The Fox's Guardian
by staincain17
Summary: What if, instead of being sealed inside of humans, the tailed beasts chose certain individuals to guard them from others who might want to use their power? Every tailed beast has done this, except for the nine-tails. Well... until now that is. Narutoxharem, Rated M for sexual themes
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"Talking"

' _Thoughts_ '

 **"Tailed Beast"**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Forest Outside of Konoha:**

It was calm day. A few Konoha merchants were being escorted out of the village by two chunins as to defend against bandits. Thankfully, they hadn't run into anything for the majority of the day. Due to walking for hours on end, the group decided to take a break to rest their feet.

"Alright, if we keep up this pace, we should be in the next village soon." Said one of the chunins. The other had decided to stand watch to make sure they weren't ambushed.

"That's good to hear." Said a merchant. "Say, how about we use this time to whip up some food?" They all agreed, thinking that some food will help them get through the rest of the trip. They started up a fire and began to cook up some meat they had brought along for the trip.

"That smells great. Let me go grab Tanzo real quick and we'll eat and get back on the road." Said the chunin, referring to the other chunin who was keeping watch from afar. He got up and started to make for him. After walking through the forest for a bit, he spots his friend from behind a tree. "Hey Tanzo. We're about to eat before we go back to the road. C'mon, let's go." He said, but to no response. Confused, he started walking closer to Tanzo. "Tanzo?"

Walking up to him, his eyes widened at the sight. Tanzo was sitting against the tree unconscious, cut and bruises surrounding his body. Strangely enough, there also appeared to be scratches and bite marks on him. _'Was he attacked by some beast?'_ He wondered as he helped his friend up. _'Whatever it is, it must be really dangerous. I need to get back to the others before-!'_ Before he could finish his thought, he hears a rustling in the bushes. Turning around, he spots a pair of red glowing eyes glaring right at him.

Whatever it was, it growled viciously before jumping out towards him. He braced for the fight on its way.

 **Back at Camp:**

The merchants had finished cooking the meat and were waiting for the chunin to come back.

"Hm. Those two seem to be taking quite a while to come back. I do hope that they're alright." Said one of the merchants as she cut up some for the two chunins.

"Oh, I'm sure they are fine. They probably just came across something and wanted to make sure it won't harm us." Said another as he started eating.

"I sure hope so. After all, those two are our only protection."

Shortly after saying this, the merchants hear a some coming from the bushes. It sounded like walking. The merchant from before stood up and walked over to it. "See? I told you it was fine. Hey, what took you guys?" He asked as he went to the bush. Suddenly, something was tossed to him, causing him to fall backwards. The other merchants, concerned, rush over to see the two chunins beat up and unconscious on top of the merchant.

"Oh god." Said one in horror.

"What happened?"

"Who did this?"

"Are we next?"

These questions were interrupted by the sound of a low growl coming from the forest around them. They were terrified as they couldn't decipher where the sound was coming from. They felt like their hearts refused to beat, wanting to just stop working as to avoid whatever this... thing, wanted with them.

They were all startled by the sound of something raiding through their bags. They couldn't see what it was. All they knew was that if they didn't stop it, it will go through all of their supplies and stock.

The group slowly approached it together, thinking that they maybe could all take it together. As the got closer and closer, they saw a mess of dirty, muddy blonde hair. Just what kind of creature is this? It didn't seem to notice them as they slowly crept up from the back. Until suddenly, it turned to face them, giving them a clear view of it.

It was... a boy. A young boy with blonde hair reaching to his waist. It was muddy, unkept, and spiky. On his face were three whisker marks on each cheek. He was shirtless and had no shoes with only a roughed up pair of orange pants on his being. This boy looked... feral. As if he had been living in the woods for the majority of his life. His torso was toned, showing that most likely was fairly tough.

The group felt relief at not finding a monster. Although, they did feel curious about this strange boy. Where did he come from? Did the smell of the meat attract him here? How long was he out here for? Questions for later. The group began to walk up to the boy, wanting to help him.

"Hello there." One of them said. "What are you doing out here?" She asked as they approached him. He said nothing as his bangs covered his eyes. "Hello? Is everything alri-" She was cut off by a sudden flash of blonde and red.

 **xXx**

 **Hokage Tower:**

Iruka Umino suddenly rushed through the door of the Hokage's office. "Lord Hokage. We have a big problem."

In his chair, the Hokage turned to face Iruka. "What is it Iruka? Did Konohamaru pull another one of his pranks again?"

"Unfortunately, no." Iruka sighed. "A group of merchants had asked for ninja's to escort them to a nearby time to avoid getting ambushed by bandits. We had sent two chunins as a precaution due to how dangerous the area they were going through was. Everything was going fine until... They were attacked."

"Attacked? Attacked by who? We had sent two chunins to escort them. Were they attacked by another ninja?" The Hokage asked.

"According to them, no. They said they were attacked by some beast disguised as a child. Saying that right when they tried to help him, he attacked them and took their supplies."

The Hokage thought this information over. "This could be troubling. A beast that could disguise itself to look like a child sounds dangerous. We must have this taken care of."

"Should we send a team of jonins to go check it out?"

"Hm... No. I say we send out three teams of a jonin and three genin to go."

"What?! But Lord Hokage, this could put the life's of the genin in danger! They're not ready for this kind of mission. Two chunins were defeated by this creature."

"Are you underestimating your own students?"

"W-what? No it's just that..."

"Listen Iruka, I understand you don't want them to get hurt. But you need to understand that sometimes, a little danger can help. If they see the dangers of this cruel world we live in, then they'll train themselves to make sure that they can survive in it. This has to be done."

Iruka was at a lost of words. He knew deep down, that the Hokage was right. If they don't do this, then when they do eventually get shoved into the real world, they won't know what to expect. And that could cost them their lives.

"I... I understand... Lord Hokage."

"Good. And don't worry, with the teams I'm sending, their jonin instructors will be able to protect them just fine."

Iruka nodded before walking to the door. "Thank you... Lord Yondaime. You truly are one of the best." He said before leaving.

The Hokage sighed before looking to a photo he kept on his desk. Picking it up, the photo showed him along with a redheaded woman smiling happily at the camera. The woman in the photo appeared to be pregnant.

"No... No I am not."

 **xXx**

 **The Next Day:**

Standing in front of the Hokage were three teams. Team 10, comprising of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Team 8, comprising of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. And finally, Team 7, comprising of Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai. These three teams were known as the Rookie 9, as they had just graduated from ninja academy. The were lead by Asuma of team 10, Kurenai of team 8, and Kakashi of team 7.

"I am glad you all made it. Now, you all may be wondering why I have called all of you here. The reason is for a special mission that I'd like assigned to you all." This surprised the genin. Getting a special mission right off the bat from the Hokage? Just what kind of mission were they being sent on?

"Oh? Did something big happen Sensei?" Kakashi asked his former teacher.

"You could say that. You see, just yesterday, a group of Konoha merchants were attacked. We had sent two chunins, and neither stood a chance." While this was surprising, this wasn't as big as they had expected. It sounded more like they were ambused by some stronger ninja.

"Um Sensei? What's so special about that?"

"Well Kakashi, the merchants have seen what attacked them. And they claim it to be a monster disguised a child." This widened the eyes of everyone in the room. "In fact, based on the description left by the merchants, the child shouldn't be any older than you kids."

Sakura slowly raised up her hand to asked a question. "Um... Lord Hokage... Why are we being sent on this mission? If it could take out two chunins, then wouldn't we genin be in the way?"

"Well, I've noticed something about a few of you here when I looked over your academic grades and performances back in the academy. And overall, quite a few of you need a... Reality shift." This confused the genin. What did he mean by reality shift? "Now, this counts as a B-Rank mission. You are all to set off this afternoon. Afterall, who knows if the creature is still in that area. Here's the information on the location and the creature. Good luck, all of you."

 **xXx**

 **Outside:**

The teams stood outside the Hokage tower to look over the mission files.

"Alright. With our speed, we should be able to reach our destination fairly quickly. The only thing that would keep us there for a while would be trying to locate this creature or whatever it is." Kakashi said as he looked over the files.

"With my team, we should be able to track it pretty quickly." Kurenai said.

"And my team should be good in trapping it so we could catch it." Asuma added.

Kakashi nodded. "Then my team will work on intercepting it so that it doesn't escape from us. Everyone clear on the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, pack up supplies to support yourselves for a few days at least and we'll meet up at the gate in two to three hours."

"Better not be late this time." Sakura muttered under her breath.

"What was that Sakura?"

"N-nothing!"

"Alright then. Now let's stop wasting time. This thing could be extremely dangerous if not taken care of quickly." Everyone shared a nod before leaving to pack up their supplies.

 **xXx**

 **Unknown Location:**

The boy could be seen walking into a dark location. Water covered the ground as the boy reached what appeared to be a dark abyss. Stopping in front of it, he sat down cross legged and closed his eyes.

After some time, loud thumping could be heard coming closer and closer. This however, didn't faze the boy, as he awaited for 'it' to arrive. After the thumping stopped, the boy looked up to see a giant pair of red fox-like eyes.

 **"Hello there kit. Looks like you're finally back. I assume you weren't followed?"** The boy shook his head. **"Good. No is one is to know of my location. Now, I assume you're here for something?"** The boy nodded before reaching into his back pocket. He pulls out what looks to be a Konoha headband. **"Hm... This could be troubling. They're getting closer and closer to finding me. Looks like I'll need to take some precautions. Kit, walk forward."**

The boy got up and began to walk closer to this new being. Out from the abyss, a giant claw came out before touching the boy's forehead. The claw then began to glow with a blood red aura as it began to seep into the boy. The boy winced, showing that it indeed stung. But he had felt worse. After a while, it stopped, and the claw drew back.

 **"You'll find this useful in the case that any find you and capture you. Now leave me. I must return to my rest."** The voice ordered. The boy nodded before starting to walk off. He was stopped by the voice leaving one more thing. **"Oh right. And be on the lookout for more potential mates. Do not forget about your mission."**

The boy stood in place for a bit before nodding and leaving.

 **xXx**

 **Konoha Gate:**

"Man, this is gonna be awesome!" Kiba shouted in excitement.

"Calm down mutt breath. Don't you know how dangerous this gonna be?" Ino asked.

"Well yeah. That's why I'm excited!"

Teams 8 and 10 had already arrived at the gate and were waiting on the members of team 7.

"Cool it Kiba. We must stay focused." Shino said.

"Oh come on. You can't tell me you aren't excited for our first B-Rank mission when all we've done have been D-Ranks this past month. Right Hinata?"

"U-um... A-actually Kiba... I-I think S-Shino m-might be right." Hinata stuttered.

"Aw man, not you too."

"Settle down you three." Kurenai said. "You need to work together if you're gonna track down that creature."

"Yes Sensei." All three said.

As they finished up, in the distance, they saw three figures walking towards them. As they got closer, it revealed Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai. Sasuke, having his silent demeanor as always, Sakura, trying to get his attention, and Sai... Having a somewhat disturbing smile the whole time. But that was just how Sai was.

"Sasuke!~" Ino shouted before rushing to his side, similar to Sakura. Her teammates, Shikamaru and Choji, sighed as they watched this. They had just gotten her to, for once, not talk about how great Sasuke was. And now with this mission, she was going to drone on about it later.

"Well, I see the teams are finally all together." They all heard before looking up to the roof of a building. Sitting on the roof, Kakashi could seen reading his oh so familiar book. "Now, shall we get going? Hm?" Looking to Sakura, she has a disturbed expression. "What is it Sakura?"

"Y-You're... on time..." She replied. Because of is usual tardiness, she assumed he wouldn't have shown up until at least two hours later. Was this a sign of the apocalypse?

"Of course I am. Afterall, that creature could be attacking others right as we speak. For once, I cannot afford to be late." Kakashi said as he lept down from the roof. "Now, is everyone ready? Got the supplies you need?" Everyone nodded. "Good... Then lets get going."

And with that, the team started to make their way out of Konoha. None knew what to expect. All they knew, was that whatever creature they were after, was not going to go down without a fight.

* * *

 **AN: Well, this was a fun write. Now I know another NarutoHarem fic may seem... I don't know. But hey, this is my story. I've always had this interesting idea in my mind and I cannot wait to share more with you guys. Leave ideas for possible harem candidates. Later.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"Talking"

' _Thoughts_ '

 **"Tailed Beast"**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Forest outside of Konoha:**

Dashing through the forest, the group consisting of team 7, 8, and 10 were making their way to the location where the beast was last seen.

"Good. If we keep up this pace, we should be there in about an hour or two." Said Kakashi as he lead the way.

"Kakashi-Sensei." Sakura said. "What exactly is this beast suppose to look like?" The others nodded at the question. Since the jonins were the ones to look over the files, the genin weren't too clear on what they were supposed to be looking for.

"Well, according to those merchants, the beast looks like a 12 year old boy with muddy and spiky blonde hair that goes down to his waist. The only thing he wore were a pair of worn out orange pants. It's because of all of this that they assumed it was just some boy who grew up in the forest. But they said as soon as they offered to help him..." They all listened in just to find out what it was. "We don't exactly know."

Almost everyone nearly tripped over their feet at that revelation. "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. "How do we not know what exactly happened?"

"Well, when we asked them, they merely freaked out as they tried to recall the event." Kakashi explained. "Shouting about how it was a horrible creature and how they were lucky to be alive."

"So don't go underestimating that thing when we find it." Asuma said to the genin. "It just might cost you your lives."

Some of the genin got more nervous about this. Although, ones like Sasuke for example, relished the challenge. _'Hmpf. It doesn't matter if it took out two chunins or whatever. It won't stand a chance against me.'_ Sasuke thought.

 _'Hmm... This creature must be quite terrifying. I'm sure Danzo would love to have such a beast under his control.'_ Sai thought as he followed the group through the forest.

 **xXx**

 **About 1 Hour Later:**

The group had stopped in what they assumed was the clearing where those merchants got attacked.

"Alright. Now, everyone keep your eyes open. We don't know if the creature is around here at the moment, but if it is, we cannot miss it." Kakashi said as he looked around the clearing.

"Well, lets give it a quick look over." Said Kurenai as she turned to one of her students. "Hinata."

Said girl gave her a nod before closing her eyes and forming a handsign. After a bit, noticeable veins appeared around her eyes as she opens them. "Byakugan!" She said as she activated her clans doujustu, giving her nearly 360 degree vision around the area. After giving it a quick look over, she finds no sign of any sort of creature.

"T-there doesn't s-seem to be any c-creature a-around the area a-at the moment." She said before deactivating her doujutsu.

"Alright. Thank you Hinata." Kurenai said as they all began setting down their bags. "Kiba, Akamaru, sniff around the area. See if you can find and left over scents the beast may have left." The two nodded before walking off to search. "Shino, we'll need your kikaichu to look over the area that is beyond Hinata's sight."

"Got it." Shino nodded as small insects began to come out from his coat and fly off, creeping out both Sakura and Ino.

"Good. Now, lets all search around to find any clues that might lead to this things whereabouts. Leave in your teams and look around." Kakashi said.

"But sensei, what about you three?" Sakura asked, referring to the three jonin.

"We will be searching separate from you." This surprised the teams, as they expected their jonin instructors to assist them in finding the beast.

"W-what?" Ino said in shock. "B-but sensei, what if we run into the beast and you're not there?"

"That's why we all have our headsets." Asuma explained. "If one of you were to find this things whereabouts, you are to immediately contact us."

"Tell us your whereabouts and we will come find you as quick as we can." Said Kurenai.

The genin nodded. A good few of them weren't too thrilled at the aspect of not having their sensei within close proximity as they looked for this dangerous beast, but they knew that this would allow them to cover more ground more efficiently.

"Ok then. Stick with your teams. Remember to have each others back as you search." Kakashi said as they all got ready to look around. Before they left however, Kakashi wanted to say something. "Oh yeah, and one last thing." He said, gaining the genins attention. "Whatever you do... Don't, and I mean don't, engage this beast if you can help it. Even if those two chunins it took down were low ranking chunin, they were still chunin. So, only fight it to defend yourselves. Alright?" He asked, looking over the genin, though his attention was mostly on the black haired Uchiha.

The genin teams nodded before running off to search separate parts of the area. Kakashi sighed as he, Asuma, and Kurenai ran off in the opposite direction to search.

 **xXx**

 **With Team 10:**

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were currently looking around for any clues. Well... Mostly Ino was as Choji was mostly eating from a bag of chips, and Shikamaru was barely paying attention to anything.

"Come on you guys!" Ino shouted in frustration. "We need to pay attention and see if the beast is close by." She said as they walked through the forest.

Shikamaru merely yawned as he followed her. "Calm down Ino. You can't tell me you're in a rush to find this thing."

"Of course I am! If we find it, then maybe-"

"Sasuke will acknowledge you?" Choji interrupted before eating another chip.

"Well yeah! If Sasuke sees how capable I am, he'll fall head over heels for me for sure." Ino said, daydreaming of Sasuke and her together.

Shikamaru sighed at her. "Troublesome women." He said before leaning his back into a tree. His back against the tree, he feels something. "Hm?"

"What is it Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru merely moved away from the tree to get a look at it. His eyes widened slightly at what he sees. "Guys, get a look a this." He said, prompting his teammates to come over.

Walking over, the two see a set of claw marks embedded deep into the tree. "Woah." Choji said.

"Man. If it has claws like this, it's surprising that those two chunin didn't have many major cuts." Said Ino as she got slightly scared that the beast might be close by.

"That's not the weird thing here." Shikamaru said, confusing his teammates. "Look at these marks. Around the edges it looks almost as if the wood got burned." He said as he chipped off a small piece from the mark and crushed it between his thumb and forefinger, turning it to dust. "Charcoal."

"Wait, are you saying that that beast can somehow use fire jutsu's?" Choji asked.

"That might just be the case. But the important thing is that Ino was right. We need to watch our surroundings if we don't want to be this beast's next victim. We're only lucky that the wood feels cold, meaning that this wasn't made too recently. But we gotta be careful. Alright?"

His teammates nodded before the team continues their trek through the forest, now more watchful of their surroundings.

 **xXx**

 **With Team 8:**

"Got anything Shino?" Asked Kiba as the team wondered through their section of the forest.

"Not yet. Either this beast is not currently around, or it is very illusive." Shino said.

Kiba scoffed. "I'll say. We've been out here for ages and all I've got were some animals. Though this forest must have a lot foxes, because I keep smelling fox or something around. What about you Hinata? Found something yet?"

Hinata shook her head no before deactivating her Byakugan. She needed to be careful not to overuse it. "I-It's been about the s-same for me." She said fairly quietly.

"Aw dammit. We're supposed to be the ultimate tracker unit. And we can't even find some stupid beast." Kiba said before irritably kicking a rock.

"D-don't worry K-Kiba. I'm s-sure we'll find i-it." Hinata stuttered, attempting to brighten up her teammate.

Kiba sighed. "You're right Hinata. We just gotta keep pushing on. And when we find that thing, we'll take it down!" Kiba said excitedly.

"I would advise against that." Shino stated. "Remember what Kakashi said. We are not to fight the beast unless it is for self-defense. Considering it took down two chunin, that's probably for the best."

"Oh come on Shino. You can't tell me you aren't excited at the prospect of defeating something two chunins couldn't."

"That doesn't matter. We must follow the instructions given to us by our jonin instructors."

Kiba groaned in frustration. "You're no fun Shino."

Hinata smiled a bit at the exchange between the two. In the time that they have been teammates, she felt she had gotten somewhat close to them. They were like a family to her. One that wouldn't judge her for looking or acting weak. One that would and could help her get stronger. They were like brothers to her. In everything but blood.

"Hinata? Hinata?" Hearing this, Hinata snaps out of his mind and sees Kiba trying to get her attention.

"O-oh. S-sorry. I w-was spacing out f-for a second."

"Don't worry about it." Kiba said, smiling at Hinata. "Think you could give the area another quick look over?"

Hinata nodded before closing her eyes and forming a handsign much like before. Veins bulged around her eyes as she activated her doujutsu once more. "Byakugan!" She said as she looked over the area again."

"Well? See anything?" Kiba asked.

Hinata's eyes widened a bit. "W-wait. I do! I-It-s... Oh..."

"What is it?" Asked Shino.

Hinata sighed before deactivating her doujutsu. "Nothing... I-I thought I saw it's c-chakra... But it w-was just some fox..."

Hearing this, Kiba's eye's widened in shock. "What!?"

His teammates were confused by this. What had startled him up?

"Are you sure it had chakra?" Kiba asked.

Hinata nodded. "Y-yes. Although, i-it did seem s-strangely tainted r-red."

"What's wrong Kiba?" Shino asked, confused by Kiba's outburst.

"What's wrong is that a random fox out in the forest should not have chakra." Kiba said.

"W-what do you m-mean?" Hinata asked.

"Animals can't normally produce their own chakra." Kiba explained.

"But w-what about A-Akamaru?"

"That's different because Akamaru was trained to do so. Animals aren't able to produce their own chakra unless they were trained to do so."

This intrigued Shino. "So what you're saying is that either that fox was trained by a ninja..."

"Or it's not a fox at all. Either way, we should follow that thing."

Hinata wasn't too sure about this. "B-but what if i-it's just another ninja's f-fox?"

"Hinata, there are no fox trainers in Konoha." Kiba pointed out. "And as far as I am aware, no one has trained a fox into using chakra in a long time."

Shino thought this over. "Kiba makes a good point. I say we do follow it. If it's not the beast, then maybe it could help lead us to it."

His two teammates nodded in agreement before Hinata activates her Byakugan again. "Lead the way Hinata." Kiba said as they began to pursue this unknown creature.

 **xXx**

 **1 Hour Later:**

Team 8 felt like they were running in circles. They've been chasing this fox-like creature for an hour now and were not getting closer to catching it. With Hinata having to make sure she didn't overuse her doujutsu, and Shino's kikaichu strangely wanting to not get close with the creature, they've had to mostly rely on Kiba and Akamaru's nose. And even then it was difficult as the creatures smell was all over the forest, making it hard to pinpoint where it was.

All in all, team 8 weren't feeling too confident in finding this thing. They decided to take a small break and plan out what they should do.

"Argh! Why is this so difficult?!" Kiba complained.

"You know why. Apparently this fox creature doesn't want to be found." Shino calmly stated.

"Well what about your bugs? Haven't they stuck onto it yet so we could track it better?"

"The kikaichu tried. But for some reason, they couldn't get near the creature. They said that the chakra radiating off it burned, not allowing them to get too close. They couldn't even get a good look at it as it's constantly on the move."

Kiba sighed. "Well then what do we do now? What do you think Hinata?" He asked, turning to said girl. Only to find her missing. "Hinata? Where'd you go?" He said as he looked around.

"She left not to go clear her head." Shino said simply.

"And you just let her go like that?! What if something happens to her?!" Kiba freaked out.

"Calm down Kiba. Hinata is not going too far and is just as capable as the two of us. Have some faith in her."

Kiba sighed as he sat down, realizing that Shino was right. Although, he couldn't help but worry for her at times. Sometimes, she just seems too shy for this line of work.

Hinata was having similar thoughts. She sat back against a tree to look out at the peacefulness of the forest. She slowly reached to the back of her neck and untied her headband.

Taking it off, she held it in front of herself, looking at the leaf symbol. Hinata wondered if she could really do this. She was barely out of the academy and was already on a B-rank mission. While she did feel honored that the Hokage had asked her team to participate in this, she also felt nervous.

 _'Can I... Can I really do this?'_ She questioned herself. _'I can't even find a fox... How can I be a ninja then?... Especially when I'm so weak...'_ She berated herself as she remembered her father's disappointment in her. _'Maybe it'd be better if I just quit and let Hanabi be the heir. She's more qualified for it than me.'_

Hinata could feel her eyes water slightly, though she refuses to let it fall. She needs to try an think more positively. But... What if she's right? Hinata sighed as she leaned back into the tree.

However, before she could go back into her thoughts, she hears something from behind the tree. Curious, she looks behind it to see a silhouette from afar. She couldn't get a good look, so she got up and began to walk over to it.

 _'Maybe it's just Kiba... He does tend to get worried about me a lot.'_ Hinata thought as she approached it.

She spots it in a clearing of sorts next to a river. Hiding behind a tree, she leaned to the side to get a better look. Her eyes widened in shock at what she sees.

 _'T-that... I-it's t-that...'_

Long mud covered blonde hair. Worn out orange pants. Looked to be about as tall as her. It was... The beast! The one they were looking for. It matched up with the description.

Seeing this, Hinata froze. She couldn't move a muscle. She knew she had to tell the others that she found it, but her body refused move. She tried moving her hand to turn on her headset, but it stayed in place. Even if she did turn it on, her voice was practically stuck in her throat.

She was thankful that the beasts back was faced to her, meaning it didn't notice her presence. If it had, Hinata didn't know what she'd do. She was so terrified that she couldn't even call help.

The beast appeared to be drinking from the river. So when it's done, it'll leave again. She had to do something before it runs off again. They may not get another chance like this again.

 _'I... I need to do something.'_

As she thought this, the beast got up and turned to her direction. Hinata quickly hid back behind the tree, her heart racing at the thought of it catching her. How did it notice her? Did it hear her thoughts? Did it know she was there the whole time?... Is this it for her?

As she wondered this, she hears it walking away. _'Huh? Did it not notice me?'_ Hinata looked to the side of the tree again and saw that the beast was gone. She let out a sigh of relief at it not seeing and attacking her. She reached up to her headset. "M-maybe now I-I can tell them. Maybe w-we could s-still catch i-it." She said to herself as she turned it on. "H-hello?"

 **"Hinata!"** She heard through it. Looks like Kiba was worried for her. **"Where did you go?"** He asked worried.

"D-don't worry K-Kiba. I'm fine."

 **"That's good to hear."** She hears from Shino. **"Come back and we could continue our search."**

"W-well... That's just i-it... I... I think I found the-" Before she could finished, she suddenly got pounced on by a familiar creature, getting pinned to the ground. Looking up, she sees a pair of red fox-like eyes peering down at her. The beast growled at her, showing of his sharp canines. That along with the whisker marks and wild hair made this thing look like a wild animal in human form.

The beast held her arms down, preventing her from doing anything. Not that she would have moved anyway. She was frozen at the sight of this creature. She couldn't even hear Kiba and Shino anymore. Her headset must have gotten damaged.

Meaning she had no way of calling for help.

 _'This... This is it...'_ Hinata thought, tears building up in her eyes. _'I won't be able to help my village... I won't be able to help my clan... I won't even be able to help my own team.'_ She could feel her tears fall down her face as she sees the beast look down at her, as if it's about to attack. She slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the beast to... to... Thought brought up more tears. _'I'm sorry Kiba... Shino... Kurenai-sensei... This is it.'_

"Hm?" Hinata heard from the beast as she doesn't feel it doing anything. She hesitantly opened up her eyes, looking back up at the beast. Her eyes widened as instead of deep red slitted eyes, she sees a pair of cerulean blue looking at her. Completely different from how they were a minute ago.

Although, that wasn't the weirdest thing. Those eyes... They looked... familiar. As if she had seen them once before a long time ago. But where? Hinata gasped as she gave his appearance one more look over.

Blonde hair. Orange pants. Whisker marks. And those cerulean blue eyes. It all clicked.

"Y-you... It's you." Hinata says in awe.

Just as she says this, someone jumps out and kicks the beast off of Hinata, making it skid away.

"Stay off of my teammate!"

"Arf!"

Hearing this, she could tell who it was. Getting up, she sees Kiba and Akamaru in front of her.

"Hinata, are you alright?" She turns to see Shino by her side.

"U-um... Yes... I-I'm fine." She responded.

"That's good to hear." Shino said. "And don't worry, we already notified the others. They'll be here soon."

"Alright guys. Let's see just how tough this thing is." Kiba said as he got into his stance.

"Kiba remember. We are not to engage it unless it's for self-defense." Shino reminded him.

"Well..." Kiba says as the team sees the beast slowly getting up, noticeably more angry than before. "I don't think we have much of a choice at this point."

* * *

 **AN: Well, another one bites the dust. This one was pretty fun to make. Although, I'm sort of dreading the next one. I'm not exactly the most experienced when it comes to writing action scenes. Oh well, I'll still give it my best shot. See you guys later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"Talking"

' _Thoughts_ '

 **"Tailed Beast/Jutsu"**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Somewhere in the Forest:**

Getting knocked back into a tree, we see Kiba panting heavily. He goes down on one knee as he looks up at the beast who attacked him. All over him were scratches and cuts, brought to him by the blonde creature in front of him.

Kiba couldn't figure this creature out. He looked like a boy their age, but seemed completely feral. One would think Kiba had a chance, especially when he pulled out his soldiers pills and used his **"Shikyaku no Jutsu** (Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu) **"**

But for some odd reason, this creature had no trouble keeping up with him. It was actually faster than him if anything.

The worst part, he was all alone for this fight. Shino's fighting style relied mostly on his insects to help assist him for fighting and using jutsu's. That is all well and good... when the bugs refuse to get close to the creature. Just what was unique about this creature's chakra that allowed it to burn the insects when it was within close proximity?

And then there was Hinata, who was arguably one of the best taijutsu users from their class. With her Jūken and flexibility, she should probably have a better chance at taking this thing on than Kiba. The only problem, she doesn't want to fight it. While Kiba was fighting it, she was off to the side trying to get the two to stop. Even when Shino told her to help out Kiba, lest he end up like the two chunins before, she just couldn't bring herself to fight it. And when questioned about this, she merely blushed and looked away.

Looking over at Kiba's scratched up body, Hinata begins to feel guilt over not helping him. But... that boy... he...

Kiba stood up and glared at the boy, Akamaru jumping to his side, looking just as beat up as him. Kiba glared at the beast and got back into his four-legged stance along with Akamaru. "Come on! Is that all you got you disgusting creature?!" He shouted.

The boy merely growled at him as he got down and suddennly shot himself traight towards Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba braced himself in preparation for round two. The creature jumped up, ready to pounce on the two...

Until suddenly, a dark blue figure jumped out and side kicked the creature away.

"Hmpf. If that is it, than you are weaker than I thought."

Looking up, Kiba sees how it was Sasuke who knocked away the beast. Said beast was currently flying through the air before landing into some bushes. As this happened, Sakura and Sai managed to show up next to Sasuke.

"Don't get cocky. That thing's tougher than it looks." Kiba grunted as he took a seat, wanting to catch a small breather.

"Oh come on. Didn't you see how Sasuke-kun already took down that thing? This fights already over. Isn't that right Sasuke-kun~?" Sakura asked, swooning over Sasuke.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Shino said as he and Hinata went over to the group. "Despite dishing out attacks much stronger than that, Kiba still could barely wear it down. If anything, I would guess that that kick only made it more angry."

As he says this, the two teams see the beast suddenly rise from the bush, noticeably more angry than before. What looks like steam started emanating out from his body. Sakura takes a step back from this, noticeably frightened by the bests more feral appearance.

"Oh? Angry?" Sasuke taunted. "Well, come on then." He said as he took a stance.

"What are you doing?! We can't provoke it!" Kiba scolded Sasuke.

"Calm down mutt. I'm far more competent than you and your team. I'll take care of this by myself."

"You don't understand! It-!" Before Kiba could finish, the beast suddenly disappeared. Before any of them could process the beast suddenly vanishing, the beast then appeared right behind Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Behind you!" Sakura tried to warn him.

It was too late as the beast gave him a hard kick to the back, launching him forward at a fast pace. As he flew, the beast once again disappeared, only to appear right next to him and deliver a devastating strike into the ground.

Sasuke shouted out in pain as his body met the hard ground. _'What... the... hell? This beast... It's so fast... Looks like those losers weren't lying in saying that it was tougher than it looks.'_ Sasuke thought before letting out a loud groan as the beast kept him in the ground with his feet, crushing his back as it constantly put more pressure into its foot.

The others merely stood in shock. Sasuke was supposedly the best of their class. The rookie of the year. The Uchiha prodigy. Yet he was taken down so easily by this one beast. Things weren't looking too good.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

"Dammit! I tried to warn him! Now we're not only a man down, but this thing is even angrier than before. What are we going to do?" Kiba asked as he stood back up.

"We need to get Sasuke and get out of here. If Sasuke couldn't defeat that thing, then we stand no chance." Sakura stated, worried for Sasukes well-being.

"We cannot." Shino calmly stated. "Even if we somehow managed to get Sasuke, that beast is way too fast for us to escape from. Our best bet is to try and distract it until our sensei's get here."

The group knew that that was the only way. For however long their sensei's take to get there, they just need to try and survive until they show up.

The only question was... How? Sure they had the advantage in numbers, but none were too sure on how they'd manage. Well, all except Sai, who was more concerned about the life of Danzo's last Uchiha.

 **"Chōjū Giga!** (Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll) **"** Sai said as he quickly drew down on his scroll. Out from his scroll came out a group of black and white looking tomoe lions. As soon as they came out, they started racing towards the beast. Getting close, all rammed into the beasts side, knocking him to the side.

"Sai! What are you doing?!" Kiba shouted.

"If something isn't done, then the beast may do more damage to Sasuke. We must prevent this." As he says this, one the the lions picked up Sasukes body and carries him towards the group, away from the recovering beast.

Kiba growled a bit at Sai. Sure they got Sasuke back, but that beast may just get even angrier now.

Sasuke groaned as he was helped up by Sakura. He didn't look too bad, but was definitely still feeling the attack left by that beast. He felt anger in seeing that thing take him out so easily. It only made it worse since the beast looked like he was a boy around their age.

While Sasuke could accept someone like Kakashi taking him down, seeing as he was a jonin, but having someone who looked like a fresh out of the academy genin do it without breaking a sweat? That, is where he drew the line.

"We're taking that thing down." He said with determination as he stood on his own and weakly got into his stance, glaring at the beast. The beast itself could be seen effortlessly ripping the ink lions apart with his large.

"B-but..." Hinata stuttered, finally speaking.

"Hinata..." Kiba said. "While I still don't get what sort of thing you got going with this beast, we NEED to fight it if we want to survive." As he says this, he got into a stance of his own.

Hinata still wasn't sure what to do. She knew she should be helping them. She knew she should be fighting him-it. But...

As the beast finished off the last of the lions, it glared towards the group. They tensed as they felt his glare burning into their bodies. The best got back on four legs and began racing towards them.

"Here he comes." Shino said as he and the others, excluding Hinata and Sakura, got ready for a fight.

As the beast was halfway towards them, they all heard a loud shout.

 **"Nikudan Sensha!** (Human Boulder) **"**

As they hear this, a giant spinning ball raced right past them at a fast pace, heading headfirst towards the beast.

Surprised, the beast stops before standing and holding out his hands to stop the speeding ball. It slams right into the beasts hands, still spinning, but stuck in place. The beast's feet dig into the ground as it does it's hardest to hold it back.

"Now Shikamaru!" The ball seemingly shouted.

Off to the side, the group sees Shikamaru in a crouched position making a handsign. **"Kagemane no Jutsu!** (Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu) **"** He said as a darkened shadow below him began stretching its way across the ground. Due to being in the shadows of the trees, his range went far, right into the beasts shadow.

The beast tensed up as it felt its body sudden stop listening to him. The spinning ball slow came to a crawl as the beast's shadow was taken over. "Shadow possession complete." Shikamaru said with a smirk as he slowly moved both arms out to the sides. The beast growled as it felt it's arms mimic Shikamaru's actions.

The others stood shocked at how quickly Shikamaru and Choji neutralized the beast. Well, most were, Sasuke was more angry that he didn't get the chance to show that beast its place.

"Great job you two!" They heard a cheery voice from behind, turning to find that it's Ino.

"Thanks Ino." The giant ball shrunk to reveal Choji.

"Now all that's left is to finish the job." Ino said as she got ready to get into position.

Before she could however, Hinata places a hand on her shoulder. "U-Um... W-what do y-you mean by 'f-finish the j-job'?" She asked, worried about their plan on what to do wih the now neutralized beast. _'They aren't going to kill him... are they?'_ Hinata wondered.

Ino merely gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Hinata. We're not doing anything bad. We're just gonna-"

"Ino!" Shikamaru shouted. Looking over, their eyes widen to see Shikamaru struggling to hold back the beast with his shadow possession. The beast refused to be controlled. It let out a loud roar as Shikamaru began to lose his grip on it. "Ino! Do it now! I can't hold him much longer!"

Ino quickly getting into her crouching position, forms a unique handsign and aims it towards the beast. She closes her eyes and slows her breathing as she slowly regained her concentration.

 **"Shintenshin no Jutsu!** (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu) **"**

As she shouts this, her body limps over. As the name implies, Ino had just transfered her mind directly into the beasts'. For all everyone else knew, they had won. There weren't many who could fight off Ino's family jutsu.

Too bad for them, this was all anticipated.

 **xXx**

 **Mindscape:**

 _'Alright, I'm in.'_ Ino thought as he slowly opened her eyes, expecting to be looking through the beasts perspective. _'Now I ca-!'_ Her eyes widened as she looks around.

She finds herself to be floating inside a dark void, complete nothingness on each side for miles. And despite feeling her mind outside her body, she wasn't in control of this one.

 _'W-What? B-but how? I'm supposed to be in control. What is this place?'_ She wondered before feeling a dark illuminating figure behind her.

 **"Ah... Looks like my gift has come in handy."** A dark menacing voice had said from behind.

Ino was frozen. The air was cold. It felt like she was suffocating. What was this? She was in the mind, so there's no need for air. What was this feeling? This feeling of dread. Of malice.

 **"That, my little intruder, is the feeling of prey knowing it's about to be consumed by a predator."**

Despite desperately not wanting to, Ino cold feel her head slowly begin to look behind her. Tears slowly welling up in her eyes, afraid of what she'll see.

Once she eventually does, no one could hear her scream in absolute horror at the site.

 **xXx**

 **Back Outside:**

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief at seeing Ino possess the beast. He released the jutsu, his shadow slowly returning back to him.

But... Before it got to him.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Looking over, he sees Ino's body letting out an ear wrenching scream. "Ino?"

Before they could could check on her, the are struck with fear as they hear the beast roar once more, visually more angry than before.

Choji, still fairly close to the beast, gets roughly knocked aside.

"Choji!" Shikamaru shouted, ashamed at how he still needed a second before he could even attempt to use his shadow possession. Holding the beast back the first time took a lot out of him.

The steam around the beast strangely starts to receed back into the beast. But oddly enough, strange red-like aura began to bubble around his body, connecting together, encasing him. They all stared in surprise as it slowly starts to take the form of a fox.

"This isn't good." Shino said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura turned to him and asked as she tended to an unconscious Ino.

"My kikaichu earlier were unable to get close to the beast due to the strange chakra it was radiating, burning them. Now not only does it seem to have encased itself in a shell of pure chakra somehow, we can assume that like my bugs..."

"It might just burn us on contact." Shikamaru finished Shino's sentence. _'That would explain those burned claw marks in the forest. If that's the case, we're in big trouble.'_

"Then... What do we do now?" Sakura asked.

Kiba looked determined at the beast. "What else can we do? We fi-"

"Wait!"

Confused, they all turn towards where the voice came from. Surprisingly enough, it came from the lavender eyed Hyuuga herself, Hinata, who seemingly shrinks down in embarrassment at all the attention placed on her.

"U-um... P-please... wait."

"Hinata? What are you talking about? We have to fight right now until our sensei's show up." Kiba said.

"There's no other choice." Shino calmly stated.

"B-but... M-maybe I can..."

"Can what?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"Maybe I c-can... t-talk to i-it." She stuttered.

"... What?"

"Please Kiba... I-I can do t-this." Hinata pleaded.

"No Hinata. We're not gonna send you out like that to get slaughtered by that thing." Kiba firmly stated.

"B-but..."

"No. We have to stick together and-"

"I think she should go." Sai said nonchalantly.

"What?! No way! We are not doing that!" Kiba shouted at Sai.

"But why not? Out of all of us, Hinata has the best chance of talking with it calmly. At the very least she could distract it so that we could ambush it."

"No! We are not sending her off to do that!" Kiba said angrily.

"But she's already doing it."

"... Wait what?"

Sai points over to Hinata, who is currently walking across the field towards the beast, visibly scared of what will happen.

"H-Hinata?! Get back here right now!" Kiba shouted, worried for his teammates well-being.

Hinata seemingly ignores him as she continues to walk towards it.

"She's dead." Sasuke states.

"Shut up!" Shouts Kiba as they watch Hinata encounter the beast.

"I-I've... finally f-found you..." They all hear Hinata say, confused by what she meant. "You may n-not remember m-me... but... I remember you..."

Did Hinata... know this beast?

"I r-remember how w-we met... and h-how you helped m-me... All those y-years ago..." Hinata calmly said as she slowly approached the beast, pushing down all instincts telling her to run away from this beast that could kill her without a second thought.

The beast looks up and sees Hinata walking towards him, but unlike the others, she didn't look out to hurt him. He could feel her fear, her regrets... but most of all... Her relief at having found him.

"T-there's... No n-need to f-fight... Lets j-just... Calm d-down and..." Hinata stops in front of the beast, looking directly into its blood red eyes. "Talk t-things through... No fighting... No conflicts..."

Despite looking completely feral, the beast seems to somewhat understand what Hinata was saying.

"Please..." Hinata gently held out her hand to the beast, hoping for it to accept it.

The beast then looked deep into Hinata's eyes. It felt as if it could look into her soul as he stared. Although, albeit slowly, the red burning aura that was surrounding the beast started to evaporate off of his body.

Everyone else watched in shock as the beast seemingly started to calm down. How did she do it? What was her history with this beast? Everyone wondered these questions as they see the beast slowly get out of its wild stance and stood parallel to Hinata, its eyes closed.

Hinata watched as the beast's eyes softened slightly before slowly opening. She feels her face turning into a smile as she sees those bright cerulean blue eyes of which she had longed to see for so long.

"It... really i-is y-you." She said happily at the beast as it slowly moves to accept her hand.

The others wondered what to do at the moment. Their mission was to capture this beast, and probably could've been killed by it, had Hinata not go and calm it down. Now that she has, what do they do? If they try and bring it back with them, it might get mad again or run off.

Maybe with Hinata, they could bring it back without another fight on their hands.

Sai however, thought differently. He knew that Danzo would be curious about this beast, especially with its unique abilities. And Danzo will need to know the most he could about it before attempting to claim it, or else trouble will arise. And while Sai does have a decent idea of what the beast is capable of, he still doesn't know much about that aura that was surrounding it a minute ago. That could cause some issues if Danzo doesn't know what it does.

So Sai, being the logical guy that he is, quietly creates another lion made out of ink, though noticeably smaller than it was before.

He then immediately sends it off to attack the beast from the side. The tomoe lion then tackled the beast's side, knocking it away, surprising Hinata.

"Sai!" Kiba shouted. "What are you doing!?"

"With the beast like this, we could take it down easily." Sai lied as he prepared to summon another lion.

"Do you not understand what you just did!?" Kiba said angrily.

As this happens, the beast easily rips apart the lion, glaring towards the group. The beast growled as it got ready to dash towards them. But before it could, it feels it's body stop again. It looks down and sees its shadow possessed once more by Shikamaru off to the side.

"Whatever you guys are about to do, do it now while I got it!" He shouted as he did his best to hold back the beast.

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. He smirked at the possibility at taking the beast down himself. Getting in front of the group, his hands flashed through multiple handsigns before taking one large inhale.

"Sasuke! Wait-!" Kiba tried pleading with Sasuke to, ironically, think things through, though was ignored completely.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!** (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) **"** Sasuke then exhaled a massive fireball from his mouth, aimed right towards the beast. Even if it doesn't take it down, it should at least weaken it a bit so that he could take it down.

The beast continuously struggled against Shikamaru's jutsu before seeing the the giant mass of pure fire coming right towards him

 _'No...'_ Hinata thought as she saw the fireball. She... had to do something. If she doesn't... then he'll...

 _'No! I can... I WILL help him.'_ She thought before suddenly rushing in.

"Hinata! Stop!" Kiba shouted, trying to run ahead to stop her.

She didn't listen. Hinata kept moving before eventually running right in front of the upcoming fireball. The beast looked in shocked as she willingly tried to save it.

Everything looked to be in slow motion to Hinata. She was preparing to gravely injure herself for some beast most of them haven't even seen till that very day. Hinata was ready. Ready to accept whatever happened to her, so long as she could help him... Like he helped her. Right before the fireball hit, Shikamaru feels his shadow possession break.

There was a large explosion of fire as the it seemingly connected to the Hyuuga heiress.

"Hinata!" Kiba and, surprisingly, Shino shouted.

The small area around it was engulfed in flames, blocking their view from the bodies of Hinata and the beast.

Kiba glared at both Sasuke and Sai before running over and grabbing Sasuke, who was catching his breath after the jutsu, by the collar. "You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea of what you just did!?" He shouted angrily at Sasuke.

Sasuke merely scoffs it off. "What? It wasn't my fault your stupid teammate ran into my attack like that. If anything, it's her fault for trying to help that thing."

"You little-" Kiba cocked back his fist, ready to clobber Sasuke right in his face for what he said.

"Wait!" Sakura shouted, getting their attention. "Look!" She said as she pointed over to where the fire was.

Looking over, they see the fire slowly dying down. As it does, they see something within the flames.

 **xXx**

 **Over to Hinata:**

Hinata's eyes were closed, she was completely for whatever happened once the fireball would hit her.

But, despite expecting intense pain and burning, she didn't feel anything. After closing her eyes, all she felt was someone tackling her down onto the ground. Who did that?

Slowly opening up her eyes, they open to see the blood red, slitted, fox-like eyes of the beast, its face incredibly close to hers. Hinata blushed at their position, it being very similar to how they were before.

She was so flustered by their position, she didn't notice the beast slowly unzip her jacket.

She felt frozen. Not like before where it was out of fear. This time, it was more out of the fact that what looks to be a boy her age was currently on top of her without a shirt. This only got worse as she finally noticed her own jacket unzipped.

Hinata wasn't sure if she was feeling hot from the heat of the flames, or from the heat coming from her flustered face.

However, before she could think anything through correctly, the beast did something completely by surprise.

It spoke.

"Strong..." It said queitly.

"H-huh?" Hinata stuttered out of shock and confusion.

"You... strong..." The beast said before slowly starting to close in on her face.

"W-wait..." She said in an attempt to stop it whatever it was about to do.

The beast however kept going closer and closer. She could feel its hot breath against her lips as it got closer.

"You...worthy..." It said quietly as it looked as if their lips would touch. Hinata closed her eyes and waited for what was to come... Only to be surprised to feel something else.

Pain. Pain welling up in the side of her neck. What was it doing? She opened her eyes to see the beast currently biting into the side of her neck, its elongated fangs penetrating into her flesh.

 _'W-wha... What is it...'_ Hinata thought as she was helplessly in the beast grasps. She clenched her teeth as she felt something else. Something was entering her neck and spreading throughout her body. And it burned. She wanted to scream in pain, but couldn't as her voice refused to come out.

She didn't know what was happening or what the beast was trying to do to her. But, slowly but surely, the pain came to a crawl. Hinata could feel her consciousness slowly slipping as the beast released her neck.

Before eventually blacking out, she saw the beast look into her eyes with bright blue eyes before speaking once more.

"You... strong will...Worthy... to be my mate."

After that, Hinata succumb to unconsciousness.

* * *

 **AN: Heya nerds! Glad to be back with another chapter to the story. Though to be honest, I'm not to sure it came out that good. I can't help but feel it's not the best I could come up with, though I do hope you guys at least enjoyed it.**

 **And real quick, some of you may view what I wrote as Sasuke bashing, but that's not the goal. I just remember Sasuke being a giant, cocky, ass muncher at the beginning of the show, so I wrote him as such.**

 **Now before I bounce, there's one more thing to bring up.**

 **I'm gonna see if I should make a poll for who you guys think should be in the harem. Now I'm gonna say this now, I don't plan on having too many girls in the harem. I'm not gonna have like 15 girls in it, heck no. Also, if I do get around to making a poll and someone you want isn't in it, it's probably for one of 3 reasons.**

 **1\. I already plans to have that character in**

 **2\. I have no plans on having that character in**

 **or 3. I just haven't considered them yet.**

 **I already have a decent idea on specific ones I definitely want to add later on. I just want some input from you guys to I can guarantee you guys will like it. So with that, I'll see you all later.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"Talking"

' _Thoughts_ '

 **"Tailed Beast/Jutsu"**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Back in the Forest:**

The group looks deep into the flames to try and get a read on what was happening inside. Most of them were wondering if Hinata was alright, except for Sasuke, who was more concerned with whether or not he got the beast with his jutsu.

As the flames start to die down, they start to get a better view on the contents of it. They all see the beast, seemingly on top of an unconscious Hinata.

This, immediately got Kiba worried for his teammate. He had to get her out of there before the beast starts trying to eat her or something.

Clasping his hands together into a handsign, Kiba started up his signature jutsu.

 **"Shikyaku no Jutsu!** (Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu) **"** He shouted as his nails and teeth got noticeably sharper.

Before anyone could attempt to stop him, he sprang forward at immense speed. Kiba raced through the flames as he came closer upon the beast. While its guard was down, Kiba gave it a hard punch in the gut, knocking it away a few dozen feet.

While there, he grabbed Hinata's unconscious body and ran back over to the group.

"Hinata?! Are you alright?" Kiba asked worriedly as he gently set Hinata down beside Ino's own unconscious body.

"Fortunately, she seems to only be unconscious." Shino said as he looked her over. "There aren't any burn marks on her."

"But... how?" Sakura asked confused.

Shikamaru gave this some thought as he remembered the position Hinata and the beast were in. "There's only one explanation." The other looked over to him, curious about what he thought.

"Well? What is is?" Sasuke asked.

"The only way that Hinata could have gotten out of that without a scratch... is if the beast protected her with its own body."

This surprised the group. Why would the beast, the one that they have been trying to stop and capture, go out of its way to save Hinata? Was it because she attempted to calm it down? Was it their secret history?

Sasuke however, scoffs as he watches the beast get back up from the surprise attack. "Whatever. Doesn't matter if it did or didn't. The only thing that matters right now, is taking that thing down." He said, shifting into his stance.

The beast rises up, a clear look of anger adorned onto its face as it glares at the group. Red flame-like aura began to steam off its body once more as he got down on all four, ready to pounce the group.

The group got into their own battle stances as they got ready for the beasts next onslaught. Although, they weren't sure how much longer they could keep this up. The beast itself barely has a scratch on it, despite all the attacks they did.

Could they really take it down by themselves?

Just as they thought this, the beasts ear twitched slightly. It growled as it looked away from the group, seeming glaring off into the woods. What was it looking at? There was no one there.

Suddenly, the beasts ear twitched before it then turned around in the opposite direction.

"What the?" Choji said. "What is it doing?"

The looked back towards the group, growling at them before glancing down at Hinata. Its eyes softened as it gazed upon her pale, unconscious face. They hardened once more before facing forward.

And within a snap... it was gone.

The beast had took off at an immense speed, leaving nothing but some dust in its wake. The group stood there in silence as their brains realize what had happened.

"So wait... is the beast... gone?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." They turned towards Shino. "While they cannot keep up with its incredible speed, my kikaichu can see that it has left the area, and isn't hiding in order to rush us."

Kiba fell back onto his butt before letting out a huge sigh. "Uhg! It's finally over!" He groaned as he rubbed his bruised and sore muscles.

Sasuke grumbled off to side, still upset for how easily the beast both shrugged off his attack, and how easily it took him down.

There was one question that was left however... Why did it leave so suddenly?

The answer came in the form of three figures suddenly flickering into the clearing.

"Sensei!" Sakura shouted out in surprise as each team jonin sensei, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi, flickered into existence. The jonins turned and looked towards their students, frowning at the damage some of them had.

"Hinata!" Kurenai gasped as she moved straight towards the genins unconscious body. She sighed in relief that it wasn't anything severe. "What happened here?" She asked as she turned towards Shino and Kiba.

"Well, we found the beast." Shino said. "But... It was far stronger than any of us could have anticipated."

"He's not wrong." Kiba added. "That things strength and speed were unbelievable. And it only got worse the angrier it got. I could barely get any hits on it, and when I did, it just shrugged them off as if it couldn't feel'em."

This worried the jonin. They knew that the beast would be tough, but to be able to deal with Kiba's attacks like they were nothing was crazy. Kiba's speed and taijutsu were already low-mid chunin level, and the beast dealt with it with no problem.

"Okay, but what about Ino and Hinata?" Asuma asked. "Why are they both like this?"

Shikamaru walked up to explain. "That's the thing, we don't exactly know what had happened." The jonin were confused. "Let's start with Ino. Me, Ino, and Choji started up our Shika-Ino-Cho formation in an attempt to capture the beast and end the fight. And it worked... right until Ino used her Mind-Transfer jutsu."

"Why? Did something go wrong?"

"Yes. Right after she used it on the beast and got into its mind... her original body started screaming. Right after that, she passed out, and the beast only got more angry."

The jonin were speechless. How was this beast able to cancel out Ino's family signature jutsu? And what made her scream? What did she see in there?

"Okay, that's Ino, but what about Hinata?" Kurenai asked, worried the Hyuuga princess might have faced something just as bad.

Shikamaru sighed as he continued on with the explanation, going into detail about how Hinata talked to the beast, how she calmed it down, how Sai provoked it, how Sasuke shot a fireball at it, and how Hinata tried to save it at the risk of her life.

The jonins went wide eyed. There were so many unanswered questions they needed answers to, but the only people who had those answers had ran off, or was unconscious.

"Wait, you said it ran off before we showed up. Why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Shikamaru shrugged. "Though if I had to guess, it probably knew you guys were coming."

"How could you tell?" Asuma said.

"Well, not only did it leave right before you showed up, but its ear twitched slightly before it looked in the direction you were coming from. If I was a betting man, it probably knew you guys were quite stronger than all of us put together, so it decided to run off before it gets into a fight with you." Shikamaru explained.

Asuma nodded as he smiled a bit at his student. Figures he manages to piece it all together so quickly.

"Man, if it heard you guys that early, then its hearing capabilities must be off the charts!" Kiba exclaimed.

Thinking it over, the Jonin come to an agreement.

"Alright, we're heading back to our campsite. Once there we can rest and go over anything we may have found before this incident." Kurenai said as she picked Hinatas unconscious body, and Asuma Ino's.

The group nodded as they got up from their resting spot and prepared to head out.

"And Kakashi," Kurenai said, gaining said jonins attention. "... Be sure to have a good long chat with some of your genin about their actions today." She gave said as she gives Sasuke and Sai a nasty look before going with the group to head back to the campsite.

Kakashi sighed as he looked over his genin. "I swear, if it wasn't already my natural hair color, you guys would be giving me grey hairs.

As they began to dash out of the clearing, something caught Kurenai's eye. Going over towards it, she spots a Konoha ninja headband. Seeing as Hinata was without hers, Kurenai realized that it must be hers.

Grabbing it, Kurenai was about to place it over Hinata's neck as she normally tends to wear it there. But...

"What the..."

Her eyes widened as they saw a strange black mark on the side of her neck. Where did that come from? The mark itself looked strange, as it had the form of a two-tailed fox looking creature.

"This mark... It's almost similar to..."

 **xXx**

 **Later Back at the Camp Inside a Tent:**

The jonin and genin, minus Ino, looked over Hinata's still unconscious body.

"What do you think it is?" Kiba asked as he moved in to get a better look at the strange fox mark.

"It's hard to say." Kurenai said. "Was there any moment where that fox thing could have given it to her?" She asked, turning towards Shikamaru.

"Well, I would say it must have happened when she tried to save it from the fire. That was the only time where it was only the two of them and we couldn't see what was going on." He explained.

Kurenai nodded before looking worriedly at her prized student. What were they supposed to do? None of them even knew what kind of mark it was, much less what it does.

"Should I try and seal it up? Just in case it has some sort of effect on her." Kakashi asked.

Kurenai sighed. "No. We can't risk it at this moment. We don't know the effect your sealing might do to it. It could agitate it, or even accelerate whatever it may be doing to her."

Asuma nodded. "She's right. It's best we just wait a bit to at least get a better idea on what it does. Then we can plan our actions accordingly." He said as he took a puff from his cigarette.

Kakashi gave them a nod, understanding their reasoning.

Sakura looked worriedly at Kakashi. "Sensei, we should head back to the village and get Hinata and Ino proper medical attention. Besides, none of us are ready for that... whatever it is."

"As much as I want to take that thing down, even I have to admit that I don't think any of us are ready for this." Kiba said. "I mean, even with all of us together, we barely wore that thing down. Its speed and strength were unbelievable."

Sasuke scoffed at this, trying to look uninterested in the conversation. Despite how much he wants to show that creature just how strong he really was, deep down he knew the truth. Had he not had backup, that thing could have killed him in its leisure. And that fact infuriated him.

Sai on the other hand was curious. They all knew that the beast was strong, but to take them all down without trying? This thing was much more than it appeared. There was also that red fox aura it was going to use before getting interrupted. He needed to let Danzo know soon about everything he has learned about this creature. Then, he and Root shall go out and catch it and learn as much as they can. That may be difficult though, as right about now-

"We can not leave."

The group turned to the owner of the voice, shocked to find that it belonged to Sasuke. Well, Sai wasn't surprised. The Uchiha heir was a very proud figure, as Sai had come to learn in the time the two had spent together. There was no way he'd sit back and let them ruin his chance to payback that beast for how it had humiliated him. It just wasn't in his nature.

"Sasuke-kun, what do you mean?" Sakura asked. "You had seen what that thing had done to us. We're outmatched. Besides, who knows what's wrong Ino and Hinata."

"Besides, you have no say in what our teams do." Kurenai said as she glared at the Uchiha, obviously still livid about his previous actions that day. "Learn your place, _genin_."

Now she was calling him by rank instead of name. It's pretty clear that she refuses to acknowledge his clan name, or even himself for that matter.

Sasuke glared back at the woman, wanting to stand his ground, despite her burning gaze. Before anything could break out, and by that I mean the Uchiha's bones breaking, they all hear something, or someone to be accurate.

" ***groan*** What... what happened?"

The group turned to see the waking form of Ino. Ino held her head as she sat up and looked around the room, wondering where she was.

"Ino!" Choji and, surprisingly, Sakura and Shikamaru shouted as they went over to check on her.

"Shikamaru? Choji? Forehead?" Ino groggily said.

Although she was incredibly angry with that last remark, Sakura was still happy to see that her old friend seemed to be ok.

"Good to see you're up sleepyhead." Asuma said as he made his way over to his student.

"Asuma-sensei? What... happened?" She said, still holding her head.

"We were hoping you could answer that for us." He replied.

"Huh?"

"See, according to Shikamaru, after performing your Mind Transfer Jutsu on the beast, you started screaming and passed out." Asuma explained. "Thankfully, you don't seem to have any injuries, aside from that headache you seem to have."

Ino nodded as she listened, slowly starting to remember the events of that day.

"Now Ino, what happened when you went into that thing mind?" Asuma asked.

She tried her best to look back on what exactly she saw. She remembered finding the beast, she remembered catching it with her jutsu, she even remembered getting inside its head. But, what did she see?

"I'm sorry Asuma-sensei... I don't know what I saw." Ino said, surprising everyone n the room.

No matter what, she just can't seem to remember what she had saw when she went inside. If only she didn't have this major headache, maybe she'd be able to think more clearly.

Asuma sighed before softly looking at his student. "It's ok Ino. You had a rough day. Why don't you lay down and rest for the day?"

Ino nodded as she laid back down, hoping that a nap may down her headache at least a little bit.

The group then made their way out of the tent to further discuss their future actions.

"Alright," Kakashi started. "Before running into the beast, did any of you find anything strange? Any clue might help us find it more quickly this time."

"B-but sensei, we can't keep going after that thing. It took us hours to find it earlier." Sakura pointed out. "We need to get back to have Hinata looked at by professionals."

"We can't." Kakashi said simply. "Whatever is going on with that mark on Hinata, we have no information on what it does or even how it works. The only thing that must know is the beast. Even if it can't speak, we might be able to find something on it that could explain what exactly that mark is for." He explained.

After hearing this, Sakura, albeit reluctantly, nodded her head.

"Now, did any of you find anything of significance?" Kakahsi asked.

Shikamaru thought it over before remembering something. "Well, me, Ino, and Choji did find some claw marks on a tree. Though, they were scorched, almost like the claws themselves were on fire. This leads us to believe that the beast may be able use jutsu of some kind."

The jonin nodded as they took note of this. From how they described the fight, it must know some jutsu to be able to make that sort of cloak they mentioned.

"How about you two?" Kurenai asked, directed at her genin.

"Hm... No not really." Kiba said as he shook his head no. "Nothing much to really say, other than Hinata saying how its chakra seemed tinted red, and was fox shaped."

Now this was interesting. A tinted chakra and different shaped chakra. They really needed to catch this thing to get some answers cleared, 'cause this was just not making sense.

"And how about you three?" Kakashi asked, turning towards Team 7.

Thinking it over, the team hadn't really found anything too special. All they did was wander around the forest until they found the beast attacking Team 8. So they really didn't find anything... Well, except for-

"There was this one cabin we happened to run into as we were searching." Sakura pointed out.

"Oh? Do you remember where it is?" Kakashi asked intrigued. "We might be able to find some clues there."

Sakura noticeably tensed. "Well yeah... We remember where."

"Well then? Where is it?" Kurenai asked, wanting to find the beast as fast as possible in order to help Hinata. Sakura looked the other way while seeming having a somewhat annoyed look on her face.

"Hm? What is it?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura sighed as she turned to her sensei. "Well, it's just that... There's this girl that lives there."

"Oh really? Then we'll just ask her if she happens to know anything."

"Yeah... but there's one little problem." Sakura said as she looked down.

 **xXx**

 **At the Cabin:**

"Oh great. You three little wannabe ninjas are back. What, still don't know the concept of 'get out of here'?!"

The others froze at the girls sudden outburst. Her wind chime bells shook as she had just opened up the door and was already incredibly pissed. The only ones there were Teams 7 and 8. Team 10 stayed at the camp in case the beast showed up.

This girl appeared to be no older than they were, if not maybe only older by a year. She had dark onyx-like eyes along with straight, shoulder-length hair of the same color. Her clothing consisted of a simple dark grey shirt with no sleeves, black shorts, grey wrist guards, and a strange multicolored scarf that seemed to contrast the rest of her clothing.

By looking at her, one could tell that she was definitely fit. While she didn't have major muscle definition, they were still there, giving her a bit more of an athletic build. In fact, she's probably, as weird as it sounds, in peek kunoichi condition. Meaning she probably could become one if she wanted.

"Oh and look at that, you dumbasses brought your group of friends to help you out. What, can't handle me yourselves? You three are more pathetic than I thought, and you were already really pathetic when I saw you the first time."

Ok, this was getting ridiculous. One of them were gonna have to settle this soon, because by the looks of it, this girl can keep this up for while.

"Um, hello there miss." Kakashi started. "How about we start over? My name is Kakashi Hatake of the Hidden Leaf. We just need to ask you a few questions. Would that be alright?" He asked kindly.

The girl merely looked up at him with half-lid eyes. "Kiss my ass cyclops."

This may be a little more difficult than they thought.

Kurenai decided to step up and give it a try. "Please listen, there is a beast of sorts roaming around these woods. We just need to ask you what you know about it."

The girl scoffed. "I don't know nothing. And even if I did, I don't want to deal with you no good leaf ninja's. Now get out of my property before I make you leave myself!" She said, closing the door.

Before she could however, a foot suddenly prevented the door from closing. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't just leave." Opening it back up, she finds the foot belongs to Kakashi.

"And why not cyclops?"

"Because... you have yet to explain your connection to the beast." The girl's eyes widened as she took a small step back.

"Huh? Sensei, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked. "How does she have any connection to the beast?"

"Y-yeah! Who do you think you are, trying to convict me of having any sort of affiliation with that thing?!" The girl loudly defended herself.

"Well, how about you answer this..." Kakashi calmly stated. "Tell me, where did you get that scarf you have on?"

The girl looked shocked as she seemed lost for words. She slowly steadied her nerves as she came up with an answer, slowly moving one hand behind her back. "I got it from a village nearby from a few merchants."

"Sensei, how does a scarf connect her to the beast?" Sasuke asked.

"Well Sasuke, I happened to have gotten a look at some of the merchandise those merchants were planning on selling. You know, the ones who were attacked by the beast. One of their merchandise were a multicolored scarf, that happens to look exactly like the one she's wearing." Kakashi stated.

Her wind chimes blew with the wind the girl was noticeably getting nervous, doing her best to keep a straight face. "But sensei, couldn't she have just gotten the scarf from the merchants when they were at the village? I mean, they have sold their merchandise there." Sakura pointed out.

"Well yes, but this specific scarf is one they had only recently crafted. They were only available in Konoha, and the merchants planned on selling more at the only village."

"So then... how could she have gotten it?" Sakura asked, genuinely confused.

"The only way she could have." Kurenai said, having pieced it all together. "By the one who stole said merchandise right after attacking the merchants... The beast."

The girls eyes widened as she took a few steps back away from the group, her behavior only proving them right.

"I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to take you in for questioning about the beast." Kurenai said. "Along with that genjutsu you had tried placing us in."

If the genin weren't shocked before, they we're definitely shocked now.

 _'Genjutsu? But when... how?'_ Sakura wondered as the girl was shocked at having been caught.

"I must say, it definitely caught me off guard when you used it, especially with how advanced it was. Not even I was at that level at your age. Using the subtle sounds of bells you had placed around your house as well as your chimes to try and trap us in genjutsu if you needed to escape." Kurenai said. "But, it was easy to detect and cancel once I got a read on it. Which brings up another issue."

"Where did you learn to do this? And who exactly are you?" Kakashi finished.

The girl clenched her teeth in anger at being found out, before relenting and pulling out her arm from behind her back. She then removed what looked like ninja wire from her wrist guards.

 _'I see. She must have used ninja wire to subtly influence the bells without us knowing. Crafty.'_ Sasuke thought.

The girl sighed before looking up at the group. "Alright you idiots, you caught me. I do know about the beast. Just ask me what you want so we can get this over with." She said, still clearly angry.

"Well, how about we start with introductions first?" Kakashi calmly said. "It would make this much easier if we knew what you're name was."

The girl groaned before relenting.

"My name is Kin Tsuchi."

* * *

 **AN: What a twist!**


End file.
